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Things They Carried Metafiction Analysis Essay

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Metafiction Analysis

Tim O' Brien's complex analysis throughout The Things They Carried mutes questions yet to be answered. Many believe O' Brien wrote "another war story" or a novel described as a "biomythography". There is an explanation for Tim's writing to be a unique style of metafiction and concentrated on the author and his fictional characters. Metafiction is when the story inspects the components of fiction such as the author questioning naturalism. The powerful structure and techniques provided in the story should have created readers to think outside the box; "It wasn't a war story. It was a love story." (pg. 81) Delineating his experience in Vietnam, O'Brien describes a connection between the art of literature and his memory. …show more content…

However, Tim incorporated a variety of thoughtful analysis about soldier's self-being, their fictional position, and drives the reader to process Tim's philosophy: the blinding light of fiction and fact. The theory of what actually happened and what supposedly happened intervenes with Tim's thought of "A true war story is never moral." Tim's proposal in "How to Tell a True War Story," develops readers to examine simple text and pose questions in order to know the truth. The author admits into constructing fictional stories and characters by acknowledging how he realized "Tim is trying to save Timmy's life with a story," (pg. 233) and the copyright page stating, "This is a work of fiction. Except for a few details." The creation of characters is Tim attempting to rescue his "self-becoming." As Tim experienced war, he mentioned "In war you lose your sense of the definite, hence your sense of truth itself, and therefore it's safe to say that in a true war story nothing is ever absolutely true," (pg.78.) and continues to write, "Forty-three years old and the war occurred half a lifetime ago,"(pg. 36) implying he didn't communicate for a cure, but to redefine himself from his

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(page 68). This is why Tim O’Brien writes the way he does. He wants the reader to believe his story and get a sense of what war is truly

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The Things They Carried, written by Tim O’Brien, illustrates the experiences of a man and his comrades throughout the war in Vietnam. Tim O’Brien actually served in the war, so he had a phenomenal background when it came to telling the true story about the war. In his novel, Tim O’Brien uses imagery to portray every necessary detail about the war and provide the reader with a true depiction of the war in Vietnam. O’Brien starts out the book by describing everything he and his comrades carry around with them during the war. Immediately once the book starts, so does his use of imagery.

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Rather, the significance of O’Brien’s work is his utilization of a metafictional novel as a representative vehicle for the Vietnam War. Within The Things They Carried

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This quote from the short story illustrates how Tim felt about leaving for the war. He knew that it was against his beliefs for him to leave. He eventually left for the war, still not believing in what he was fighting for which resulted in Tim losing sight of who he was. He allowed the pressures of society to influence him and morph his character into one resemblant of the popular belief of the time. In the story of The Book Thief, Hans Hubermann experiences a similar situation to Tim.

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It was not Tim’s sense of nationalist loyalties that caved him; rather, it was helplessness and his reputation that was at risk. Tim O’Brien longed to be that “secret hero” or “Lone Ranger” in order to impress those around him. However, he ends up learning that courage does not come in finite quantities. He finds himself resenting authority, “If you support a war, if you think it’s worth the price, that’s fine, but you have to put your own precious fluids on the line”. No matter how much he may find the law cruel and inhuman, he has is too prideful and decides to comply with the rules.

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There are numerous examples of metafiction in The Things They Carried; many are clear, and some are harder to notice at first glance. In the text, author Tim O’Brien uses a metafictional writing style to vividly illustrate what emotions and thoughts went through the minds of the soldiers fighting in Vietnam, including himself. It is unclear whether or not some of the stories he tells in the text actually happened, but there is no doubt that they are paramount to the underlying objective of O’Brien’s writing style: to use realistic scenarios that may not have actually happened, to make whatever changes necessary to the story to get his point across. Tim O’Brien uses metafiction to obscure the line between truth and fiction by manipulating details that trigger certain emotions to influence the reader. Metafiction allows writers like Tim O’Brien to manipulate what is held to be truth, and fabricate certain details in an attempt to enhance or reinforce the meaning of a story.

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